Don't worry - this isn't a goodbye post.
Hey! A special LFTE this month because today's officially our one year anniversary. By the time I post this, it'll definitely be the 29th in almost every time zone - a error of memory on my part - I've been so busy today that I've only just remembered it at 10:40 at night. But nevertheless, as I'm typing this it's our one year anniversary. A LOT has changed in a year, I'm in a completely different place than I was this time last year, both in mindset and in the physical. I'm happier, I'm optimistic, and I'm healthier all around. I'm not in New York anymore. I miss it very much - I've been in Colorado since April, and next week I'm moving to Salt Lake City. I've never been further than Colorado, so I'm a bit nervous, but mainly so excited. I've got a new laptop, and I went to a show last night - saw a band I love, Joyous Wolf (they were brilliant!). I've gotten closer to my friends, and made a couple of new ones, especially some who have had such a huge, positive impact on me & are genuinely such a good kind of people. I'm writing a book, growing out my hair, and learning to face all my fears straight on rather than avoiding them.
Life is exciting, full of possibility, and just...good. But this time last year? So uncertain and scary. I remember listening to Nothing But Thieves' "Is Everybody Going Crazy?" on repeat when the lockdown begun alone in my bedroom, chest feeling so full of fear and hopelessness. It felt like the world was ending. These feelings kept alive inside me until I got the idea for this magazine in May. Wild Honey made me feel like I had a way out of the darkness and now a year later, I believe those feelings have proven themselves to be right.
I'm trying to think of myself a year ago. I felt very lonely because of the pandemic, because as probably like everyone else on the planet, I was isolated from my friends and most of my family. I found some joy at the beginning of 2020 in writing for Buzzkill Magazine about bands such as cleopatrick and Ready the Prince. As the year progressed and covid overtook our lives, I found comfort in writing about the music I was interested in. It served as both a distraction and a expression of my want to go forward with my dream of working in the music industry. I wanted to work in radio when I was in high school, then to become a photojournalist, which recently became a music journalist, or as I aspire to be William Miller - a rock journalist. I almost went to college in 2019 to study journalism, but I didn't have enough faith in myself and my abilities, which is amusing to think about now. If I'd gone to that college, Wild Honey probably wouldn't have existed for a few years, or maybe not at all...
To say that Wild Honey changed my life is an understatement. It completely upheaved my life, and it's only just the beginning. I've learned so many lessons, about the industry and life. I've learned that I've been wrong about so much - but also learned that I can change, and I've definitely changed. The person who launched Wild Honey one year ago doesn't exist anymore, but all for the better. I've learned about music journalism and the industry, all thanks to some kind and patient people who came into my life and gave advice. I learn something new about this world I've found myself in every day.
I'm proud of how far Wild Honey's come. Our team is full of really nice, skilled, and interesting people. I didn't want to run a music blog by myself, and luckily, others wanted to come and write for it with me. It makes me so happy. We've done such cool things so far such as our interviews and takeovers, and live music is slowly but surely making it's return, so hopefully we'll get to continue our work but in a more tangible way. Wild Honey's a magazine, and I really want to make the "magazine" part sink in, so...
I'm happy to announce that this summer the team and I are working on our first issue! It'll be digital and possibly in print as well. It'll be seasonally, as a look back at the season that just passed. It's expected to be out on September 18th, 2021, right at the end of summer. It's all been digital so far, and as that gives way to reaching people I wouldn't have been able to traditionally which I am thankful for, but it leaves a gap. Something empty. I want all of this to feel real, to feel like Wild Honey's a real magazine, something to look back on in the future and reminiscent about the time that passed. And especially with the pandemic creating endless Zoom calls, I think we're all a bit tired of looking at screens.
Other than our first issue, I'm shifting our focus on interviews, Instagram story takeovers, original pieces & photographs - just everything past reviews. I don't want Wild Honey to forever be a review site. As much as I love writing on how I feel about music, there's only so much you can say. It gets repetitive, and the industry moves too fast to keep up. I also believe it's more fun to hand the mic over to someone else and let them explain themselves in their own words, rather than an outsider's perspective, which in the case for this magazine, I encourage our writers to say their opinion, not what they believe everyone else thinks, just themselves. It's not bad, but I want Wild Honey to be more Rolling Stone & Tiger Beat rather than Pitchfork.
Anyway, hey, thank you for supporting me and this little magazine. I only thought my mom and my friends would care, but so many people past them care about it and it's mind-blowing. All of the interest in whatever we're doing on here is honestly so overwhelming but in a good way. Without Wild Honey, I don't believe I would be the person I am today. A lot can change in just a year, and both the pandemic & this magazine has solidified that for me strongly.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. We're, to industry standards, still so small, but to regular people standards, big and I can't be grateful enough for all of the support I've received.
Thank you.
with love,
Cherri Cheetah.
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